


A touch of sun

by BooksandKpop



Series: Soft Fics 9: Every SF9 Pairing (OT2) [34]
Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Summer Vacation, just good old fashioned summer fun, mentions of shirtless boys beware your heart, sunburn isnt fun kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 16:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19322239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandKpop/pseuds/BooksandKpop
Summary: “hey i just met you,and this is crazy,but i get sunburned really easily so can you please help me put sunscreen on my back?”





	A touch of sun

#

Summer rolled around once again, with its scorching heat and endless stretches of free time. Inseong loved the second part of the summer, no assignments to worry about or mandatory 8 am lectures. The first part however? Not so much. Because as beautiful as Inseong's golden skin looked as the sun shone down on him, he burned like a marshmallow in a campfire. Quickly, and painfully. Which was why he always made sure to coat himself in the highest factor sunscreen and wear t-shirts to protect his especially sensitive back whenever they went out.

Naturally though, when his whirlwind of a childhood best friend rolled into town on his newly purchased Vespa with a bag packed for the beach, Inseong had no chance to prepare himself for the sun exposure. It was only as they were hoping their way across pebble stone footpaths on their way to the alluring blue waters that he was hit with the realisation.

 

"Wait, Dawon we have to go back."

"What? No way dude the beach is literally three steps this way!"

"I forgot my t-shirt and extra sunscreen."

"You're wearing a t-shirt? And I have sunscreen don't worry!"

"What factor?"

"I don't know, like 10?"

"We're going back."

 

Despite his protests and insistence, Inseong still ended up sitting on a beach towel as the sun's deadly rays beat down on his slowly crisping skin. Dawon just laughed and called him a baby before whipping off his own shirt, shucking his shoes and sprinting to the waters edge without a care in the world. Inseong chuckled at the indignance on other beachgoers faces as they got sprays of sand in their face as his best friend raced past.  There was truly no stopping the joyous disaster that was Lee Dawon.

And as much as he wanted to join in the frolicking, he didn't want to wash off his sunscreen just yet. Not when they were probably going to be here for hours and the sun was only going to get hotter. So instead he decided to busy himself with building a sandcastle. It had been years since he had come to the beach, despite it only being an hour away from his uni dorms. He probably looked ridiculous, a tall, 26-year-old man wearing a large sunhat and oversized t-shirt building a sandcastle by himself with a tiny hot pink plastic bucket and spade. Even just thinking about it made Inseong burst into loud laughter, but he didn't care. This was his summer vacation, and if he couldn't get into the ocean with his best friend he would make his own fun.

Dawon spent his time dashing back and forth between the sparkling azure waves and Inseong's slowly growing golden-brown sand kingdom. He was never still, the sunlight and heat seemed to charge his batteries like an energised bunny and his radiating joy was purely infectious. As he watched his best friend making friends with a group of three guys who looked about their age, Inseong felt a little twinge of jealousy. He really wanted to experience the cool sensation of the water lapping at his toes, the waves rising to his knees and soaking his shorts, salt and sand sticking to his skin as he ran back from the edge. But burning was not worth it.

After what was only two hours but felt like a stretched out eternity under the sun, Dawon declared they needed to go get ice-cream. Inseong happily agreed, grabbing his wallet from their bag before skipping hand-in-hand with his best friend back up to the stone overhang where an ice-cream truck sat waiting. They chatted easily as they walked and waited, catching up on their years apart since they separated to go to universities on opposite sides of the country. It had been two years since he and Dawon had spent time together, and yet it felt like they had never been apart.

Slowly, after a tough decision over which frozen treats they each wanted, they wandered back down towards their claimed spot on the sand. They hadn't been gone long but Inseong noticed that there were now towels set up close to their own. He pointed this out to Dawon who screeched in delight and began running, dragging Inseong unwillingly along by their still intertwined fingers. Fortunately, the new arrivals hadn't touched Inseong's masterpiece of a sandcastle, indeed one of the two guys there seemed to be scrutinising it. 

 

"Jaeyoon! Rowoon! You decided to join us!"

"Youngbin didn't want to because he thought we would be disturbing you, but then a group of rowdy teens settled down close by so he was glad to have an excuse to move."

"And where is Youngbin?"

"He's trying to convince Tae that ten minutes walking in the sun from there to here isn't going to cause him to combust into flames."

 

Inseong awkwardly stood there, one hand in his best friends tight grip and the other holding a not-so-slowly melting ice-cream. It was messy now, but he decided to just suck up his pride and began chasing the dripping juices down the sides and licking his fingers clean. He pretended he didn't hear the taller of Dawon's apparent new friends cough at the sight but felt a little pleased internally. As if suddenly remembering who was beside him, Dawon finally made introductions.

 

"Oh right! Guys, this is Inseong, my best friend since forever. Seongie, this blonde adonis is Jaeyoon, and his tree friend is Rowoon. Oh! And that muscled hunk dragging the formless blob towards us is Youngbin!"

 

Inseong choked as he realised that the muscled hunk Dawon had pointed out was none other than Kim Youngbin, his universities resident heartthrob and leader of the dance team. The formless blob beside him was wrapped up in what looked to be a massive beach towel, with only a floppy sunhat and sunglasses peeking out the top, and holding a rainbow parasol over his head. Sweating, Inseong tried to keep his cool as Dawon introduced him again.

 

"Youngbinnie!! This is my friend Inseong I was telling you about, you guys are in the same university right?"

"Yeah, of course. I recognise you from spirit rallies."

 

All he could do was smile and nod and desperately try to save his ice-cream from making more of a mess now in front of Youngbin. The blob shuffled in a wide arc around Inseong's sand castle before plopping down beside Jaeyoon. The blonde laughed before taking the parasol and setting it up over their towels and helping his friend unwrap himself. Inseong almost dropped his ice-cream when the being underneath the blob was revealed. Dawon may have referred to Jaeyoon as an Adonis, and Inseong wouldn't disagree, but this other guy was nothing short of godly himself.

Sunkissed skin, perfectly sculpted biceps and thighs, and pouty pink lips came into view as Jaeyoon pulled the beach towels away and began setting them out on the sand. He was staring, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. And when the figure lifted one beautiful hand to remove his hat and run slim, delicate fingers through his inky black locks Inseong knew he was a goner.

 

"Ah, the hermit is revealed! This is Taeyang - no seriously, that's his name. Fitting right?"

 

A dig in the ribs from his best friend jerked him out of his reverie. Inseong felt his cheeks flush as he just nodded and smiled like an idiot, wanting nothing more than for the sand to swallow him whole. Fortunately, Taeyang didn't seem to have noticed Inseong's bewildered staring and just waved shyly. Dawon didn't let his best friend stew in his embarrassment for too long, being his loud and personable self he struck up a lively conversation as the group of six all got themselves settled down. Rowoon asked him questions about his sand castle and he and Youngbin discussed their plans for when they finished their post-grad research. Slowly, Inseong began to relax and enjoy the group's company.

But as soon as he thought as much, Dawon declared he needed to get back into the water. Three of the others loudly agreed, Jaeyoon and Youngbin immediately pulling off their muscle tees to reveal sculpted abs and pecs that Inseong wasn't even ashamed of drooling over. They raced to the ocean, laughing and pushing one another until they reached the welcoming blue waters and splashing in. Inseong watched wistfully, trying to imagine the feeling of the cool water splashing his skin as he played around with his best friend under the hot summer sun.

 

"Are you not going into the water Inseong?"

"No, unfortunately not. I forgot to bring extra sunscreen or a spare t-shirt and I burn really easily."

"I get you, I literally fry under the sun it's unfair."

"Really? But your skin has such a nice colour."

"Oh, well, thank you. It's no thanks to the death rays from the sky though. I currently have factor 50 sunscreen on."

"That's what I usually wear too! Dawon offered for me to use his but he only has factor 10, imagine!"

 

Taeyang shook his head in disbelief and Inseong giggled. Of all the conversations to be having with such a handsome man at the beach, this was not the one he had anticipated. He wasn't complaining though, not when Taeyang's voice was sweet like chocolate strawberries and Inseong just wanted to listen to him talk forever. They chatted a bit more about their sun aversion, empathising with one another's pain over wicked sunburns and their saviour aloe vera gel. But then Inseong wistfully spoke about his longing to get into the water.

 

"If you want, you can use my sunscreen and then go down? It's marine life-friendly, I promise!"

 

He was eco-conscious on top of being this beautiful, truly life wasn't fair. But Inseong certainly wasn't going to decline the offer which would allow him to finally dive into the water which had been teasing and calling him since they arrived. So he gratefully accepted the little blue bottle of sunscreen from Taeyang, their fingers brushing as he took it sending a flash of heat through Inseong's entire body. Briefly shy in front of Taeyang, he was tempted to leave his shirt on. But then he reconciled that if he wore his t-shirt into the ocean he would have to deal with it sticking to his back the entire trip back to his dorm. And that certainly wasn't worth it. So he took a deep breath and just stripped his shirt off in one sharp movement, turning away from Taeyang as he did so.

Inseong could feel Taeyang's eyes on his back as he quickly but methodically applied the sunscreen to his skin. Face, arms, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, legs - it was only when he finished his feet he realised he had a problem. Despite his wonderfully long limbs, he wasn't flexible enough to reach around to apply sunscreen to his back. Which meant he needed help.

 

"Um, Taeyang?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you put sunscreen on my back for me? Please?"

 

All he got was a verbal hum before Taeyang was reaching for the bottle of sunscreen, their hands brushed again but Inseong didn't have a moment to process it before strong hands grabbed him by the hips and pulled him back on their beach towels towards Taeyang's shaded oasis. He didn't trust his voice not to crack so he remained silent as he waited, muscles clenched with nerves. Then cold cream touched the tops of his shoulders and the sun-kissed prince began to work spreading it evenly over Inseong's skin. He was biting his lip so hard to not make any noise, getting embarrassingly hot despite the coolness of the sunscreen as Taeyang's hands deftly worked over his back. Just as Inseong thought he was going to make it through unscathed, Taeyang's fingers brushed against his waist and he let out a gasp as he bolted upright.

 

"Oh? Are you ticklish?"

 

There was no remorse to be heard in Taeyang's voice, just devilish delight. Inseong shook his head rapidly, praying with all his might that Taeyang didn't have a teasing streak. His prayers went unanswered, as the shorter male behind him purposefully dragged his fingers tips across Inseong's waist to his stomach with a feather-light touch, causing him to squeak as he tried to jerk away from the maddening touch. But Taeyang wasn't having it, laughing brightly as he hooked one leg around Inseong's middle and held him in place as he relentlessly began torturing him with dexterous fingers.

Inseong's peals of laughter must have been drawing weird looks to them, but he couldn't help it. Taeyang refused to let up, not even as Inseong begged with panting words to stop. It was only when the taller collapsed backwards, flattening his tormentor to the ground that it stopped. Underneath him, Inseong could feel Taeyang's chest heaving with laughter as they lay there under the parasol. Inseong was out of breath, probably flushed as red as a tomato and also mortified within an inch of his life. 

 

"You're awful."

"No, I'm Taeyang."

 

The laughter continued and Inseong couldn't help himself, he flipped over so he was now lying chest to chest with Taeyang. The shorter suddenly went silent, eyes blown wide as saucers and mouth opened in shock. Inseong grinned wickedly, rather enjoying the effect he was having. There were so many things he could do with this current advantage, so many things he certainly wanted to do. But instead he decided to leave his tormentor hanging and pushed himself up, not missing the way Taeyang's eyes flicked to his biceps as he did so, and once he was standing over the shorter he lowered his voice.

 

"I'm going to get you back for that."

 

Without another word or giving Taeyang a chance to respond, he winked and made a mad dash for the water. He could see Dawon and the others messing about in the waves, laughing and splashing one another with intent, and he gleefully ran to join them. The moment the cool water hit his legs he was in heaven, the waves a welcome relief from the scorching heat of the sun above. He kicked his way through the rolling waves to his best friend and latched himself onto his damp back. Dawon jumped when he felt Inseong's hot skin pressed against him, but laughed gleefully when he realised who it was.

 

"Look who finally decided to get his feet wet!"

"Yeah well, I couldn't resist the water any longer."

 

They continued splashing and horsing about like unruly children. At one stage Jaeyoon and Dawon teamed up to try and pin Youngbin and Rowoon down with wide sprays of water, only for Rowoon to launch himself at them, dragging all three of them under the waves. Inseong felt freer than he had in a long time, all his worries and stress rolling off his back with the waves that crashed around them. He had no idea how long they spent in the water, but eventually, Youngbin called for them to go back and take a break. Everyone was in agreement, and so with a shout of "race ya" from Dawon they all turned and began sprinting their hardest out of the water and back up the stretch of beach to their towels.

Jaeyoon made it back first, whopping in delight for a second before Dawon crashed into his back, sending them both flying to the ground and covering them both in sand. Rowoon collapsed onto one of the empty towels, wet shirt doing nothing to hide the rapid rise and fall of his chest or his defined muscles. Youngbin slung an arm around Inseong's shoulders as they made their way back last, both having given up sprinting almost immediately after they got out of the water. Inseong was happy, chest heaving and water running in rivulets down his face and chest, the warm weight of Youngbin's arm around him making him feel protected.

They sank onto Inseong's towel together, sighing in relief. Jaeyoon was complaining about the sand stuck to his skin as Dawon laughed and Rowoon attempted to help him brush it off. Taeyang just sat there, silently. Inseong felt his stomach twist slightly at the way the shorter was looking at him, or more specifically, the lack of space between him and Youngbin in that very moment. Inseong felt a grin slowly build across his face as he got an idea for his revenge. 

Patting Youngbin's thigh, which was very muscular and almost caused Inseong to have a heart attack there and then, he extracted himself from Youngbin's grip and stood on his own for a moment before launching himself at Taeyang, who squeaked in shock. The taller was still soaked with sea water, and so when he plastered himself to Taeyang's side he let out a shout of protest. But Inseong wasn't going to let him off that easily. He pinned Taeyang to his towel and shook his head like a wet dog, spraying droplets of salty water all over the only person who had yet to enter the ocean. Youngbin was laughing behind him and Rowoon was in stitches too. Inseong eventually tired and looked down at Taeyang, who was now red-faced and his t-shirt and shorts were damp from where Inseong had pressed against him.

 

"Revenge is salty."

 

The smile that was splitting Inseong's face must have been a sight to see because Taeyang's expression of disgust quickly morphed into a pained grin as he accepted his fate. Instead of trying to push Inseong off from where he was still glued to the shorter males side, instead he lay back onto his towel pulling Inseong down with him. A moment of rearranging long gangly limbs and they were settled comfortably together, the heat engulfing them not unpleasant. Around them a conversation struck up between the others, about everything under the sun. Slowly, the sound of their soothing voices lulled Inseong into a peaceful slumber.

When he groggily began to wake up the first thing he felt was sweaty and crusty. The sea water had dried on his skin leaving a thin layer of salt on his chest. The next thing he noticed was the warm patterns being traced on his stomach. Lines and loops and other designs that Inseong's groggy mind couldn't yet process were being firmly pressed against his skin, gently enough not to wake him but firm enough that they weren't tickling. Groaning, Inseong forced his eyes open and was met with a rainbow overhead.

 

"I must be really gay to see rainbows when I wake up."

"That was basically my reasoning behind buying this parasol in particular."

 

Taeyang's voice sounded amused, and Inseong realised that the fingers drawing on his skin belonged to none other than the sun deity himself. He turned his head to the side and was met with Taeyang's face very close to his own. His golden skin looked like it was glittering in the muted sunlight, the shade cast by the umbrella only serving to highlight the sparkle in his deep brown eyes. Inseong kinda wanted to kiss him. Instead he just grinned, stretching his limbs like a cat and muttering in displeasure as he could feel the salt on his skin cracking as his muscles flexed. Taeyang didn't stop the patterns he was drawing though, which made Inseong smile.

 

"Where are the others?"

"Gone to get slushies, Dawon promised he would get you one."

"He better, or I'll be stealing his."

 

They lay in comfortable silence, just enjoying the peace and freedom that the summer was providing them. Eventually the peace was broken with the return of their loud friends, but Inseong wasn't unhappy - not in the slightest. He just sat up and graciously accepted the blue slushie he was offered, passing a red one to Taeyang. They talked like old friends reunited, which Inseong supposed wasn't entirely untrue on his part. It just felt so natural, sitting on the beach under a rainbow parasol with one leg thrown over the lap of a handsome once stranger and chatting comfortably with new friends and old. This was the essence of summer, and Inseong wished it would never have to end.

But as with all good things, the sun began to dip lower in the horizon and the air and sand slowly started cooling. The beach had begun emptying out, only a few groups lingering on in the last few moments of daylight. Inseong felt a twinge of regret somehow, as he watched the ocean turn golden under the setting sun. Not one for letting regrets follow him, he decided to make one last stand for their day of freedom. Struggling to extract his arms and legs from where they had grown more intertwined with Taeyang, he stood up and spoke to the group assembled.

 

"One last dip before we go home?"

 

Dawon cheered loudly, clambering out of Jaeyoon's lap and wrapping an arm around his best friend instead. Grin wide on his face and a wicked gleam in his eyes, Inseong knew this was going to be hilarious.

 

"Last one into the water buys the first round of drinks!"

 

And with that, he was gone, sand spraying from under his feet as he dashed towards the darkening waves. Inseong screeched with glee as he pelted after him, the others hot on his heels. He was sure that he would end up being last until a hand grabbed his own and began dragging him forward at almost lightning speed. Taeyang, shirtless and with his hair blowing in their self-generated wind was pulling him along towards the welcoming expanse of water. All Inseong could do was laugh and struggle to move his feet faster as they crashed into the waves together, the coolness washing over their exposed skin and getting in between their fingers.

 

"Drinks on Youngbin!"

 

Cheers went up from the group as the man in question shook his head, smile creasing his face as he splashed into the water after them. They played around in the water, having fun like kids with no inhibitions flicking water at one another and trying to jump over the waves that rolled in. Inseong ended up with Taeyang on his back as they fake jousted with Dawon and Jaeyoon while Rowoon commentated and Youngbin just laughed, splashing them as they went. It ended with Jaeyoon poking his toes into Inseong's sides, causing him to drop Taeyang into the water and almost fall over himself. It was joyous and liberating and Inseong let this sense of contentment wash over every fibre of his being.

The sun began to set more rapidly, and as it almost disappeared beyond the horizon a hand snaked its way around Inseongs waist turning him around. He was greeted with the glorious sight of Taeyang, wet hair swept up off his forehead and whole body glowing in the remnants of the dying daylight. Inseong was breathtaken, and so when the shorter male leaned in with his lips glistening there was no other response other than to meet him halfway, eyes slipping shut as the gold and pink of the sunset burned colour into his eyes. 

Taeyang tasted like summer - saltwater on his lips, slushie on his tongue and sunshine in his soul. Inseong felt himself melt into the kiss, waves swirling around his waist and the burning heat of Taeyang's hand pressed into the skin of his back. They broke for air and when his eyes fluttered open the gold light from before was gone, replaced with gentle purple and silver hues as the moon and stars got their chance to shine. But the sun wasn't truly gone, it was standing right in front of him, promising him more.

Before, Inseong avoided the sun for fear of getting burned by its scorching rays. And yet right at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to dive headfirst into basking in the light of a new sun, one he hoped would never have to set on him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you my love Molly for giving me such a fun prompt! I'm really struggling with writers block and other things right now so it was nice to just take something fluffy and fun and summery like this and just enjoy writing again.


End file.
